Neptune Bulk Terminals gets record $353 million Canpotex upgrade to secure potash exports

Canpotex, the potash export company owned by Nutrien and Mosaic, broke ground on September 25 on a CAD 500 million (USD 353 million) upgrade of Neptune Bulk Terminals at the Port of Vancouver. The company called it the largest supply chain investment in its history.

The project will replace and modernize the equipment that moves potash from rail to ship at Neptune, including the shiploaders, the conveyors and the dumper pit used to unload railcars. Canpotex expects construction to finish in 2028 and says shipping will continue without interruption during the work.

Neptune is the world’s largest potash export terminal and has handled Canpotex cargoes since 1979. Canpotex moves more than 15 million metric tons of Canadian potash a year from nine Saskatchewan mines to customers in more than 40 countries. It has shipped about 325 million metric tons in more than 50 years of operation.

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority CEO Peter Xotta said the investment will better connect Saskatchewan potash to South America and the Indo-Pacific. He tied the project to Canada’s goal of doubling exports to non-U.S. markets.

The timing is notable. Canada supplies the bulk of U.S. potash imports, and Washington is exploring cheaper supply from Minsk as the first Belarusian potash cargo in four years heads to New Orleans. Upgrading Neptune strengthens the West Coast route that serves Canpotex’s overseas buyers, regardless of how the U.S. trade dispute plays out.

Source: Global News